Former Kuwait lawmaker detained for tweets critical of Egypt

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — The lawyer of a former Kuwaiti lawmaker says his client was detained overnight for questioning and has been ordered held for another 10 days for tweets criticizing the Arab Gulf country's ruler and his support of Egypt's president.

Abdullah al-Ahmad says prosecutors began questioning Saleh al-Mullah Tuesday about tweets he wrote on Monday, when Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was in Kuwait.

Al-Mullah — who was an independent and liberal lawmaker — wrote on Twitter that Kuwaitis no longer accept billions of dollars handed out to other countries. Kuwait has pledged at least $4 billion to el-Sissi's government.

"This is the money of the people of Kuwait," he wrote in one tweet.

Al-Ahmad said Wednesday his client is being accused of insulting the emir, insulting Egypt's president and endangering bilateral relations.